Sale logs 3 K's, Vazquez rakes for Red Sox
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Christian Vazquez helped his cause to win the backup catching spot for the Red Sox by logging a pair of hits in Thursday night's 4-3 win over the Pirates."You're seeing more consistent contact," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "Vazquez] went through a stretch last year
FORT MYERS, Fla. --
"You're seeing more consistent contact," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "[Vazquez] went through a stretch last year where coming off a season missed, he searched for who he was offensively. The time he spent in [Triple-A] Pawtucket was productive. Same with the at-bats he received this winter. You like to see him put the bat on the ball for obvious reasons. In his spot in the lineup where he could find himself, the ability to move runners ahead of him, hit and run, he's very capable of that."
Utility infielder Josh Rutledge, who is in competition to win Boston's final spot off the bench, had a triple.
The Pirates struck for some early offense against five-time All-Star Chris Sale, scoring three runs over the first three innings. Sale gave up seven hits and three runs over four innings.
"I didn't feel sharp today," Sale said. "I felt great, just not sharp. I wasn't able to locate when I needed to."
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Ian Browne has covered the Red Sox for MLB.com since 2002. Follow him on Twitter @IanMBrowne and Facebook.
Adam Berry has covered the Pirates for MLB.com since 2015. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook, read his blog and listen to his podcast.